What Disasters May Come
by Winter Syzygy
Summary: In which Midorima and Murasakibara suffer from withdrawal, Aomine and Akashi try to protect, Kise and Kuroko want to forget - and all of them are just trying to find their place in a world where basketball and all that they previously knew don't quite matter anymore. (Apocalypse canon-divergence AU; GoM-centric pre-slash)
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This was originally meant to be a one-shot, or maybe just a short collection of drabbles set in the same universe. But the plot bunnies just kept coming and so this has officially become a multi-chap. There may be strange formatting, since and formatting doesn't work very well...

Also: this fic is mostly general and not quite ship-centric, although there _are_ some moments. But most of their interactions can probably be taken as either friendship or pre-slash. (The pairings aren't quite settled yet)

* * *

" _I apologise, Akashi-kun. I was just thinking how the last time we all gathered together was in much happier circumstances than this."_

* * *

1A.

The first thing Kuroko noticed was that it was dark, even though the digits blinking at him from his watch insisted it was three in the afternoon. Dust and debris swirled about in the air, and all he smelt was smoke.

…Smoke?

 _Where was he?_

His head was pounding, and his limbs felt heavy and sluggish. He squeezed his eyes back shut, trying to ignore the ache. He thought he heard some voices nearby, but his head was spinning too much for him to try and figure out whose they were. It was as if something had knocked the breath right out of him – not an unfamiliar feeling, but Kuroko was quite sure he hadn't been running laps or participating in any other form of stamina training. Anyway, what kind of training would have left him half-sprawled on the ground, one arm crushed beneath his body, the other in front of his head, and his legs twisted in an awkward angle from his body?

He tried to adjust himself.

He couldn't.

 _Why was he pinned under something?_

It hurt to think.

Maybe he was just dreaming, and he would wake up in another few hours to go to school. He would poke Kagami awake during class, and perhaps squeeze in some basketball practice during lunch, before going to join the rest of Seirin for practice. Yes, that sounded right... He was just about to let himself drift back into the darkness when he heard a decidedly more distinctive, familiar voice.

"Kuroko?"

It was softer, and much more uncertain than usual. But then, maybe that was just because his ears were still ringing.

' _Kagami-kun?'_ He tried to reply, but his throat felt hoarse, and all he managed was a croak. Kuroko forced himself to open his eyes and turn towards the voice's source. He blinked once, twice, as his eyes slowly focused on the figure kneeling in front of him. He blinked a few more times as he processed the sight of blood dripping from a cut on Kagami's forehead.

All of his memories returned in full force.

X

"Don't the fast food chains here give free food or something when there's a birthday?" Kagami asked between mouthfuls of fries. He cocked his thumb toward the table opposite to them. A seven-year-old boy sitting in front of a vanilla (Kuroko approved) birthday cake with green, Shrek-shaped frosting beamed widely at his father, who held a camera in his hands.

"I've never celebrated any birthdays here, so I wouldn't know." Kuroko replied, watching as the kid stuck his tongue out at his older sister. "But Kagami-kun, please refrain from talking when you're chewing."

Kagami rolled his eyes good-naturedly, but complied anyway. They ate in companionable silence, Kagami devouring his second burger while Kuroko sipped his vanilla shake at a much more leisurely pace. Both of them watched the family of four as they sang the birthday song. Some of the staff members and customers joined in, and they all cheered when the boy blew out the candles.

That was when the light flickered, and a loud siren started to wail.

There were given few seconds to react before the world around them started shaking. Kuroko heard screaming, swearing and names being shouted everywhere. He heard Kagami calling him, found himself being yanked under the table, and felt a jolt of pain on the crown of his head.

He welcomed the darkness that took him.

X

"What… how?" Kuroko managed, frowning at the way his throat felt parched even though he remembered having finished at least half of his vanilla shake before… everything.

"You're awake!" Kagami all but announced, stating the obvious. If he had looked disproportionately relieved to see him speaking, Kuroko didn't point it out. It was, however, a cause for concern.

"How long have I been unconscious?" He asked, swallowing his saliva in an attempt to wet his throat.

"Fifteen minutes? You weren't responding but I didn't dare drag you out and – it's great that you're okay." Kagami finished lamely, scratching his head. Kuroko felt compelled to smile, despite his headache, sore throat and numb legs.

Ah, yes. Kuroko turned to the side, steering Kagami's gaze toward the rubble that had crushed most of the table Kuroko was under.

"Uh right! Sorry. I was just – never mind. Let me help you out." Kagami flushed, standing up in a sudden motion that made Kuroko somewhat dizzier. He did not complain, though, when the pressure on his legs eased. He clambered out clumsily, wincing at the sudden wave of vertigo that hit him. Luckily, Kagami managed to grab Kuroko and support his weight before he fell.

"Thank you." Kuroko said, once the worst had passed.

He took the chance to look at his surroundings… and registered the widespread destruction in the place that had used to be known as "Maji Burger". Most of the ceiling lights of the booths had fallen, and half of the building's walls had caved in – the side near the kitchen, from which billows of smoke drifted into the eating area they were in. Surrounding him, small groups of people helped their companions to their feet, with varying expressions of shock, fear, relief… and grief.

Kuroko turned, almost reflexively, to the table opposite theirs. Or at least, to the rubble that had once been an actual structure. His eyes widen – at the father who _(had been laughing, taking pictures with his family)_ was hunched protectively over his wife and children; at the cake, which lay smashed as a barely recognisable smear on the ground, right in the line of sight of the birthday boy's gaze. Except, even though his eyes were wide open, they were unmistakably empty.

His father's efforts had obviously been in vain.

The numbness wore off, and the horror set in.

(Mother. Father. Sempais. Kouhais. Kise. Momoi. Murasakibara. Midorima. Akashi. Aomine.) The images flashed in quick succession – all of them eyes blank and unseeing, forever lost, never being able to live out their whole lives the way they _should_ – his nausea increased tenfold, and Kuroko vaguely processed that Kagami was calling his name, holding him tightly, but he could not respond in time, or warn him –

He bent over and vomited.

* * *

 _"Oi Tetsu, don't get so depressing. It's the company that matters, right?"_

* * *

1B.

One moment, Aomine was minding his own business, trying to solve a pointless math question while Satsuki and Ryou (okay fine not literally) breathed down his neck. The next, a blaring alarm had rung and everything had just gone to shit.

Right now, he was hunkering down underneath Ryou's bed, after having narrowly escaped being crushed by the bookshelf. He thanked his godly reflexes for having rolled out of the way just in time. He would not be dying by way of being crushed by piles of _assessment books,_ damn it. The solid wood part would be more bearable for his pride – but definitely not his health. So all in all, yeah, he was pretty thankful.

After the shaking stopped, Aomine slowly rolled back out into the open space and stood up. He stretched experimentally… and grimaced. He'd definitely hurt something in his back, but hey, he wasn't dead and that was definitely a plus.

He'd been through a minor quake before, but while this didn't seem that high up on the scale either, the effects seemed to be much worse. He squinted through plumes of dust as he looked around the room, making out dark shapes that used to be furniture.

It was then that he realised how quiet it was.

It wasn't supposed to be.

"Satsuki, Ryou, you okay?" Aomine called out, hoping for a "Yes" or even a "Sorry", or just any sign of life.

There was no answer. Aomine had never hated silence so much. He searched his mind frantically for where they could be. Right, he had been upstairs alone, because the other two had… fuck. Satsuki had gone down to the kitchen to find some food after Aomine begged for some, hadn't she? And then Aomine had forced Ryou to go along to make sure whatever she brought up would be edible.

Aomine ignored the mess that was now Ryou's bedroom; ignored the sharp pain in his lumbar – and tore down the stairs, his heart pounding in his chest the way it usually did only in the toughest of games. Even _he_ knew that the kitchen was just about the most dangerous place to be in during an earthquake. What if the gas had exploded? Okay, he would have exploded with it since the kitchen was directly downstairs. At least that hadn't happened.

He nearly slipped on a bunch of utensils as he ran into the kitchen. He skidded to a halt and grabbed the wooden edge of the doorway, righting himself just in time.

The place was a wreck. The fridge lay horizontally on the floor, and the floor was littered with shards of glass and porcelain, along with the odd knife, fork or spoon. He scanned the area quickly, just hoping that he wouldn't see any of them lying on the floor in a pool of their own blood – he blocked the visual from his thoughts.

"Oi! Satsuki? Ryou?" Aomine tried again. He would _never_ forgive himself if-

"Dai-chan?" Satsuki's voice – slightly shaky, but it was her all right – rang out from the rightmost corner of the kitchen. Aomine blinked as she and Ryou emerged from a door he never knew existed, seemingly unharmed. He rushed forward, almost forgetting the broken shards everywhere as he let his childhood friend wrap her arms tightly around him.

"S-sorry! We were in the bomb shelter!" Ryou said, even more wound up than what was customary for him lately… although with good reason. Anyway, Aomine was so relieved that he didn't even quarrel with him for apologising for _surviving_. He just clapped Ryou on the back, although with the way he reacted it seemed more like Aomine had shot him or something.

"There's been multiple earthquakes throughout Japan, and many other countries. Most aren't too high on the Richter scale, but…" Satsuki bit her lips as she pulled back, hand reaching out toward her phone again. Trust her to already have information gathered at this stage. At least that meant communication was still on…

Suffice to say, Aomine was alive; all three of them are. But, as for everyone else… His parents were out of the country, so they would probably just be worried sick about Aomine but they were probably fine… unless Thailand had also been hit. But then, there was also Tetsu and Kise and the rest of his old and current teammates and he didn't _really_ want to see any of them dead, no matter what he might have indicated.

"Multiple tectonic plates? This is like an apocalypse from a manga." Ryou whimpered.

Satsuki and Aomine both turned to him, aghast. (Saying it was like jinxing it, and who wanted that to happen?)

"Come on, what are the odds of that?" Aomine laughed weakly. His argument sounded pretty lame to himself. He was no math expert, but even he knew enough from geography that the probability of different countries throughout the Eastern hemisphere experiencing separate natural disasters at the same time was _low_.

Before anyone could reply, Satsuki's ringtone rang. She picked up immediately and switched her phone to loudspeaker mode.

They all winced at the static.

"Momo-cchi, — there?" Kise's voice was barely recognisable over whatever was happening at his end. Either that, or it was just the bad reception.

"Kise?" Aomine practically shouted at the phone, drowning out Satsuki's reply.

(If Kise was fine too…)

There was a few seconds of excruciating silence.

"I don't hear any response, but the call connected, right? I hope you're all fine… it would be nice to talk to someone." Kise's voice rang out, and Aomine just _knew_ that something was wrong. "Help would be even better, but it's unlikely, right? Who would come to the modelling agency building—"

Another burst of static cut off Kise's words. Aomine kept replaying the words 'help' and 'stuck' in an endless loop and he almost literally felt his blood run cold. Satsuki jabbed the volume up button desperately next to him, and Kise's muffled voice flowed through again.

"— Under lots of stuff and everyone here that isn't… dead is gone." Kise laughed shakily, and his voice just sounded so resigned and unlike his usual tone that Aomine wanted to punch the wall or shake his former teammate, except he _couldn't._ "The good part is I have spa—"

The line cut off.

They called again, and he didn't answer.

"Fuck." Aomine muttered, clenching his fists. He whipped out his phone to try again. His screen had cracked, but it was still functional, if it wasn't for that the fact that the damn thing just wouldn't connect. Damn the power lines. Damn this stupid earthquake. _Damn himself._ He scrolled through the two missed calls he received from Kise – five minutes ago – and this time, he had to be forcibly restrained by Satsuki and Ryou from punching a wall.

How long could someone survive in an unstable, partially collapsed building with no food or water?

(What if he died?)

Aomine swore again, and even Satsuki didn't say anything about it this time, even though she _was_ right that it didn't make anything better. All the relief that he'd got when he saw Satsuki and Ryou just drained right out of him. This was unfair. He just stared at Satsuki, who had a look of barely suppressed terror on her face, and resolved himself.

"Do you have supplies and tools?" Aomine asked sharply as he turned to the shooting guard.

"Y-yes. In the shelter-"

Aomine all but ran past Ryou and Satsuki into the bomb shelter. Satsuki was going on about how he had to be less reckless and think of a plan and Ryou was saying something else that he couldn't even process, and he was just ignoring the both of them, his attention solely focused on sieving out the useful stuff. He grabbed a crowbar, tossing it into a large duffel bag. He wasn't Akashi or Midorima or even Tetsu and he knew that he was impulsive and couldn't plan for shit; also it wasn't like he wanted to be a hero or anything like that anyway.

What he did know for sure was that right now, there was nothing that could stop him from finding Kise and getting him the hell out of wherever he was trapped in.

No person – thing – _whatever_ – would stop him.

~~~  
Next chapter:

 _"Oh my, Daiki. Coming from you, I believe the rest of us should feel touched."_

* * *

A/N: I'm not sure if any of this seems slightly OOC for any of them, but high stress situations! And we already know how Aomine is protective of Kise and Kuroko… Please leave a review! :)


	2. Chapter 2

_"Oh my, Daiki. Coming from you, I believe the rest of us should feel touched."_

* * *

1C.

It was rather a shame having to watch as the priceless antiques his father so treasured fell to the ground and shattered, sending shards of glass and porcelain flying all over the floor. Shelves stacked full with limited editions of books clattered wildly and toppled, adding to the scene of destruction with their offerings of rare tomes. They were quickly followed by the shogi pieces that had once been laid on the board placed atop the wooden table that he and Shintarou were currently huddled under.

He reached out, on a whim, and caught one of the pieces mid-fall.

His king.

He flipped the piece in his hand a few times before pocketing it. He would have won anyway, but the game had been unfolding in a rather intriguing manner, and he'd been enjoying it.

( _Pity.)_

"You shouldn't stick your hand out like that." Midorima said, observing Akashi with a frown. His voice was soft and somewhat hoarse, but otherwise calm. A stark contrast from what he would have observed if it had been Kise next to him, perhaps. On the other hand, Ryouta was unlikely to question Akashi in such a manner.

"Thank you for your concern, Shintarou." Akashi turned to the shooting guard and flashed a smile that could be perceived as a borderline smirk.

There was no need for him to explain that he had evaluated the possibility of his being injured with such an act and found it negligibly low. Shintarou understood that intuitively from years of companionship, and merely scoffed in reply.

The space under the table was small and uncomfortable, but the wooden structure had proven to be sturdy, and they remained unscathed under it, if silent. It wasn't that they were completely unbothered, however, as much as it might have seemed so to an outsider. Akashi recognised the signs of tension: Midorima clutched his lucky item – a pair of size 12 knitting needles – uncharacteristically tightly; Akashi had to forcibly unclench his jaw when he'd first noticed it, and that was something he only ever did in the most dire of situations.

( _Situations you have no control over, you mean?)_

Neither of them had ever been through any catastrophic events, but Akashi supposed that their upbringing had taught them that panicking in such situations was just counter-productive and ultimately, pointless.

The shaking subsided soon enough, even if it had felt longer than the usual half a minute earthquakes purportedly took. Akashi exchanged a glance with Midorima, and they both stood up from under the table. Shintarou carefully made his way toward the window, while Akashi surveyed the damage that had been done to the room. Decorative pieces and fallen shelves aside, it wasn't _too_ bad.

"Akashi, you might want to see this." Shintarou's voice was sharp and demanded attention.

Akashi turned to him, noting that he was visibly rattled. He followed Midorima's line of sight, and understood immediately.

"This isn't a normal earthquake." Midorima said quietly, still transfixed by the view outside. It was certainly… different.

"So it seems." Akashi frowned. He whipped out his phone, checking if there was any reception, and quickly tuned in to the local radio channel.

" _The Eastern hemisphere has been hit by several high magnitude earthquakes, and on-site witnesses have reported the presence of what they term a 'dark cloud' travelling due east in the sky. Experts have not been contacted at this point in time and it is unclear what this entails. Civilians are advised to stay-"_

Akashi quit the application, having heard what he needed to know. Almost immediately, a call from his father came in.

" _Seijuurou, are you unharmed?"_ The smooth, baritone voice of his father rang out surprisingly clearly, considering the circumstances. The conversation was brief and transactional, but Akashi detected the faintest hint of worry in his father's voice. Even so, he couldn't help comparing his own exchange to the much more effusive one Shintarou was currently partaking in with his own family, complete with reassurances.

 _(Fake promises.)_

"My father has instructed us to get to Tokyo. There will be ships carrying refugees to the west in a few days." Akashi said, looking up from his phone when the shooter was done.

If anything, Shintarou seemed relieved at the statement – but that was understandable. Almost everyone they knew was there.

Akashi turned his attention back to his phone, typing out a message to inform his teammates, both old and current, of the news. He waited for the delivery reports characteristic of deliverance.

Only three came in. Akashi resisted the urge to strangle something, reminding himself that that was exceedingly impractical.

"Reception's gone." Midorima said, his eyes flashing with his own frustration.

Outside, the sky grew progressively darker, casting strange shadows interspersed by flashes of brilliant, green light that definitely were not a figment of Akashi's imagination. They had to leave soon.

"Come with me." Akashi said, quickly going through their options in his head as he set off at a brisk pace. "Our emergency supplies are in the basement."

His house had proven to be stable so far, considering none of the walls or roofs in the area had given way, but he would rather not take his chance with aftershocks and whatever it was that seemed to be brewing outside.

"Was the information about the ships released to the masses?" Shintarou asked, and it was indeed a question that Akashi had been pondering.

Akashi shook his head. "I doubt so, but information spreads fast, and going to the city is not an unconventional course."

"The _shinkansen_ is unlikely to be in operation. Or safe." Midorima continued, hurrying after Akashi as he quickened the pace along a corridor.

"We will have to travel by car." Akashi decided, his mind evaluating the pros and cons of using designated public evacuation transport versus the various forms of private transport. He wondered if his butler and maids were fine, or if they had already left. It would be preferable if they could bring an adult along for the trip. Even if they could drive themselves, in the worst case, it would be beneficial to all involved to take turns.

Shintarou nodded in reply as he listed off a few items with his fingers. "If we plan for the worst case scenario where travel is compromised and we have to go by foot, we will require a bare minimum of six days worth of non-perishables and bottled water, the usual medical supplies, respirators… I assume you have pre-prepared sets of supplies?"

Akashi listened to Midorima's stocktaking, interjecting as he went along to provide clarification, add items and offer alternatives to reduce the load. It was a comprehensive list they came up with, and they manage to fit it all into three reasonably sized haversacks. They worked quickly after that, getting into a car that Akashi's butler, Kashiwaka, had prepared.

If Akashi _had_ to choose a partner to navigate a potential apocalypse with, it was not at all strange that Midorima was one of the best options. They had the same way of dealing with challenges by focusing on addressing all contingencies while repressing needless sentimentality. They worked quite well together, both on-court and off-court.

Regardless, it wasn't as if Akashi needed the external validation. If he had anything to say about this fiasco, it was that they would get through this. All of _them_ would.

 _(Do you not mean 'must'?)_

* * *

" _Aww, I knew that Aomine-cchi secretly loved us."_

* * *

1D.

It was dark, dusty and everything that Kise had always dreaded. The fact that he was now completely _alone_ – well, maybe that wasn't 100% right. He had his manager to accompany him, which Kise would be more than fine with if she wasn't… _dead._ He tried not to look at the area; tried not to see how the falling cement had crushed her head, how the one eye that hadn't been mangled was still open and staring straight at the door that was now caved in.

Kise resisted the urge to gag, or cry, or maybe both.

Contrary to popular belief, he wasn't always surrounded by people. But he'd never felt so _alone,_ like now _._ It was so quiet. He could literally hear the beating of his heart, faster than usual from his internal panicking.

The rest of the shooting team had left, some of them running straight out without a second glance, some of them throwing apologies to him but leaving him behind anyway. It wasn't like he had the right to feel betrayed, considering that he would probably have done the same, but he did anyway.

He felt the slightest sting of tears in his eyes as he stared at his phone, which had cut off right in the middle of his one-sided conversation with Momoi. (Aomine hadn't picked up, and what if _he wasn't okay?_ What if…)

Kise shook his head. He needed to focus on living as long as he could. What would any of them say if they knew he was dehydrating himself by crying? First of all, he needed to get himself unstuck from this _dratted_ slab and the wire entangled with his shirt, without slicing his arm open.

At least it hadn't pierced straight through his flesh, right?

He could already feel the numbness setting in.

 _If only he had a pair of scissors._

He had already tried pulling himself free but he wasn't strong enough. The shirt was too tight and Kise risked strangling himself if he tried to wriggle out… Maybe he could try tearing the sleeves off? Except, the material was too stretchy to tear. If he wanted to do this, he had to cut the sleeve off _._ But, with what?! All he had that was sharp was the brooch he'd been modelling.

Could that work? It wasn't like he lacked time… Well, there was no harm trying.

Kise slid the brooch out from his shirt carefully with his free hand, and stared at it. Luckily, the needle pin thing was quite thick, so perhaps this could actually work after all. He resolved himself, ignoring the developing ache in his arm from the awkward way he had to position himself as he slowly poked a series of holes, close enough to form a larger tear.

(Was it possible that Momoi had heard what he said, though? But what could she do by herself? And there was everyone else too. What if he was already in the best situation out of all them? Or maybe he was the unluckiest…)

After what seemed like a year, the hole finally seemed big enough. Gritting his teeth with effort, he pulled away as far as he could from the metal… and hissed at the sharp pain. _Shit._ Wasn't the wire rusty? His chest tightened, and he had to force himself to slow down his breathing and calm down. There was nothing that Kise could do now anyway. He'd had a tetanus shot some time in the last two years, right? Maybe it was still working…?

He wished that he had the Internet, or maybe Midorima or Kasamatsu to ask (pester), but he was still alone. The cut wasn't deep, luckily, but it had still drawn some blood. Kise yanked out the cloth belt he was wearing and wrapped it around the wound tightly. Ha, let no one doubt the power of clothes and accessories.

Still, Kise had never been so glad to hear a ripping sound. At least, he could walk around the (cramped) space now. Although, there was only one placed he wanted to go: _out._ He made a beeline straight for the blocked entrance. Taking a deep breath, he tugged at the topmost rock-shaped concrete desperately, pushing it with all the strength he had, throwing his weight against it… but the thing barely moved a centimetre.

Kise screamed – both to cry for help and to vent his frustration – until he was hoarse. He didn't know why he even tried. It was obviously a futile effort trying to move the heavy debris from this side… _alone._

It was just a waste of energy, wasn't it?

He gave up, settling himself on the floor and staring up at the hole between the rocks, his sole source of light and air. As long as it didn't rain, he would be fine… until he died of dehydration or starvation or tetanus poisoning or being buried by an aftershock. What were the odds that anyone could find him and rescue him in time?

His eyes wandered back to the body directly opposite where he currently sat.

 _Was that how he would end up?_

 _(He really didn't want to.)_

Kise ran his fingers through his hair, filthy as they may be, and threw his head back with a dramatic sigh. Talking to himself was sad, right? Nevertheless, he wondered out loud how dark it would be when night came, and resigned himself to finding out.

* * *

 _"Mine-chin, do you want a hug?"_

* * *

1E.

Murasakibara had been snacking – umaibo held in his hand, about to enter his lips – when the world started to tremble. He wasn't sure why everyone around them started panicking, though. It wasn't that bad. Just the figurines in the store shaking, but they were plastic. Even if they fell, it was okay. They'd experienced this kind of tremors before… whenever there was an earthquake in the distance.

 _Oh._

He felt a tug on his arm, and turned to look.

"Atsushi, we should bend down too." Himuro looked worried… well this was probably more rare in America. Either way, Murasakibara allowed his teammate to pull him down against the wall. In the meantime, he continued munching on his umaibo, even though Himuro looked somewhat chagrined at that. He offered his companion a box of collons, but as he'd guessed, that wasn't it. Ah well.

Murasakibara watched the scene around him as the shaking stopped in a matter of seconds. It really wasn't as serious as some of the people around them were making it seem, with all their hugging and stuff. No one had even got hurt.

Next to him, Himuro said something about searching for what was going on. Just then, Murasakibara felt the vibration in his pocket. He took his phone out. Who would be calling at a time like this? He frowned as he read the tersely worded message.

"There's been a rather serious earthquake in Tokyo and other prefectures at the Southern parts of Japan. China, Korea, and some parts of South-East Asia have also been hit." Himuro read out from his phone, and that made both more and less sense to Murasakibara. On the other hand… he squeezed the wrapper in his hand tightly.

He was unused to seeing Himuro look so worried, since he was usually the calm one, even as he continued his search for information. "Apparently there have also been sightings of some strange phenomena that experts haven't been able to explain."

Obviously, something more serious was happening than just multiple earthquakes. It would explain Akashi's message. As usual, he was two steps ahead. Maybe he already had a whole escape route planned. Well, in that case…

"Muro-chin, we should go to Tokyo."

" _What?"_ Himuro asked, obviously confused as he looked up from his own phone. That was understandable, considering Murasakibara was extremely confused too. He passed his phone to Himuro and let him read the message for himself.

"Isn't it dangerous leaving Akita for an area we know something bad is happening?" Himuro frowned, handing the phone back. "We should wait for official evacuation announcements."

"I trust Aka-chin." Murasakibara said simply. "And I want Muro-chin to be safe too."

Himuro's eyes flashed a whole range of emotions that Murasakibara didn't recognise, except for the obvious one of conflict and hesitation. Murasakibara scowled. Hesitation was a sign of weakness, and he didn't like it on any of his friends.

Murasakibara waited patiently as his teammate typed away on his phone, probably trying to contact either Kagami or his parents. Murasakibara should call his parents too, actually. Or maybe, get more information from Akashi. He might already know if the rest were okay.

"You're planning to go anyway, right?" Himuro asked, a resigned expression on his face. The call hadn't got through.

Murasakibara nodded.

Himuro paused for a second, and seemed to be gathering his resolve. "Well, if anything's going to happen, I'd rather meet up with Taiga too."

That, Murasakibara could understand. All of his past teammates were in either Tokyo or Kyoto…

He crushed the collon box he held in his other hand.

* * *

Next chapter:

 _"Eh? Stop putting words into my mouth. And keep your hands – and that thing – to yourself-"_

* * *

A/N: Honestly, I think it's Kise that needs the hug... Okay, I definitely had the most trouble with Murasakibara and Himuro. Sorry if it was off! Also, don't mind the way I casually grouped them up very conveniently, but I wanted to preserve my sanity. Following 4-5 separate plotlines… never again.

Thanks for reading :)


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